Bailey was a Shih Tzu that we groomed every 8 weeks without fail. He was cute, fluffy, but downright unpredictable. You never knew when Bailey was going to snap, and when he did, he meant business. Not only was Bailey grumpy, he didn't appear to be real healthy. His coat was dull and he had that rusty looking discoloration around his paws. He also struggled with reoccurring ear infections. After visiting with Bailey's owner, she agreed to make a change in his diet. Bailey went from a low-quality over the counter dog food to a high-quality grain-free food. Eight weeks later Bailey came back for his spa day a different dog. There was no discoloration around his paws, his ears and coat looked great, and most importantly he remained calm and happy all the way through his grooming! We obviously hit the mark on this one! This went on for several months but unfortunately, that's not how it ended. After several months Bailey's mom decided that since he was better she would switch back to the cheaper food again. You can imagine what happened...the old Bailey came back to life and the new happy puppy was gone.
A couple more times she switched back and forth with the same predictable results.
This instance proved to me the importance of the foods we feed our pets. There is a lot to learn about the nutritional needs of our dogs. To start, here are a few things you definitely want to stay away from. 1. Corn 2. Meat By-Products 3. Wheat. Start by eliminating these you you will be on the right track!
I have found a website called
Dog Food Advisor to be extremely helpful when researching pet foods. It's a great resource that gives you an unbiased food rating, as well as explanation, of almost all dog foods available. I'd encourage you to check it out!
